Robert Mugabe has abandoned a negotiated solution to the Zimbabwean crisis at the behest of the generals who prop him up, sources have told The Independent
The embattled President, 84, has set himself on a collision course with the opposition and international community after declaring he will open parliament next Tuesday despite his failure to agree a power-sharing deal. Zimbabwe's military chiefs, led by Constantine Chiwengwa, the head of the army, believe Mr Mugabe has already offered to cede "too much power" to the opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai in a deal now on the table, which Mr Tsvangirai has refused to sign.
Other senior figures in Mr Mugabe's inner circle, including the leader of the feared war veterans' militia, have demanded that the President makes no further concessions to Mr Tsvangirai and his Movement for Democratic Change, even it means the dialogue collapses completely.
Instead, they are pushing Mr Mugabe to dissolve parliament shortly after it resumes sitting next week. He could then order fresh elections in which the ruling Zanu-PF party could overturn the MDC's narrow majority through a campaign of terror similar to that deployed between the first and second round of presidential voting.
